Juan de la Cruz Cano y Olmedilla

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Juan de la Cruz Cano y Olmedilla (born May 14, 1734 in Madrid ; † 1790 ) was an important Spanish cartographer , illustrator and engraver . His most famous works include a detailed map of South America , illustrations for the novel Don Quixote and an album of Spanish costumes .

biography

family

He was born in Madrid on May 14, 1734. His parents were Raimundo de la Cruz from Canfranc and María Rosa Cano y Olmedilla from Gascueña. His older brother was Ramón de la Cruz , who became known as a dramaturge . He had two other, younger siblings who, however, died during their childhood. In 1744 the family moved to Ceuta , a Spanish enclave on the North African coast. When their father died in 1746, they returned to Madrid. He may have been married to María Fernández de Salinas from Belorado and had seven children. Two of his sons were probably named Francisco (born October 29, 1775) and Pedro (born January 31, 1778).

education

The Marques de la Ensenada , at the time an advisor to King Ferdinand VI. , suggested Juan de la Cruz (together with Tomás López ) for a scholarship so that he could learn copperplate engraving and cartography techniques in Paris . There he stayed from 1752 to 1759 for training with the cartographer Bourguignon d'Anville . In 1755 he published a map of the Gulf of Mexico together with Tomás Lopez . Upon his return from Paris, he entered the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Madrid and was appointed His Majesty's Geographer . In 1764 he was awarded the Titlel académico de mérito .

The South America map

Cusco and the surrounding area in the 18th century. Section from the South America map by Juan de la Cruz

In 1763 the Spanish minister Marqués de Grimaldi commissioned Juan de la Cruz, together with Tomás López, to create a new map of South America on a scale of 1: 5,000,000, in which the Spanish territories were to be shown in their exact position and location to the Portuguese. Both worked on this project for years, including the most diverse and important sources with the most precise determinations of the latitude and longitude of their time. When it came to a falling out between the two because of problems of interpretation, Juan de la Cruz completed the work alone.

In 1775 he then published a map entitled De la América Meridional , consisting of eight sheets, with a total size of 260 x 185 cm. It was the first printed Spanish map of all of South America to show the boundaries between the Spanish and Portuguese possessions. King Charles III was impressed by the work presented and ordered a few copies to be colored and given to deserving Spaniards and foreigners. But in 1789 the publication was prevented for reasons of state policy, the copies already distributed and the copper plates were confiscated and brought to the Calcografía Nacional , founded in the same year . It is believed that the copper plates were then destroyed.

The map was republished in London in 1799. Because it was the last official map in South America before the independence of the Spanish colonies, it was used in the 19th century by the new states as a starting point to define their territories.

Costume book

Colored copper engraving by Juan de la Cruz after a drawing by Manuel de la Cruz
(Woman from Pasiego, 1777)

In 1777, Juan de la Cruz created an impressive collection of copperplate engravings with depictions of costumes from the Spanish provinces under the title Colección de trajes de España, based on his own and other people's templates, including the drawings of his cousin Manuel de la Cruz (1750–1792) tanto antiguos como modernos que comprende todos los de sus dominios . It was a commission from the Russian envoy von Zinowies. By 1788 he published six more volumes of traditional costumes. The total of 96 colored copperplate engravings became bestsellers . The album was copied many times in the following years, in France and Germany also as, one would say today, pirated printing .

Ruin and death

When his South America map was confiscated in 1789, the government assumed that he was doing incorrect work as a pretext. His reputation as a cartographer was ruined. In addition, he had practically all his fortune invested in this project and was then faced with economic ruin. He fell into a deep depression and died soon afterwards in 1790. He left a widow with seven children.

It was not until 1802 that Juan de la Cruz was rehabilitated by the Spanish government and his South America map was again approved for publication.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Francisco Navarro Villoslada: De la ediciones ilustradas del siglo XVIII . In: La Ilustración Española y Americana . No. 47 . Madrid December 22, 1878, p. 374 (Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes PDF file 650 kB [accessed June 11, 2009]).
  2. ↑ Ramón de la Cruz, John Dowling: Sainetes . Editorial Castalia, 1981, ISBN 978-84-7039-397-6 , pp. 282 (Google Books Limited Preview [accessed June 11, 2009]). P. 10
  3. ↑ Christiane Hagn: Ramón de la Cruz and the popular genus of the "sainete" . Advanced seminar work. 2005, ISBN 978-3-638-48233-2 , pp. 29 ( GRIN Verlag [accessed June 11, 2009]). P. 6
  4. ↑ Matias Fernandez Garcia, Pbro .: Parroquia de San Sebastián madrileña: algunos personajes de su archivo . Caparrós editores, 1995, ISBN 978-84-87943-39-3 , p. 619 ( Google Book Search - Limited Preview [accessed June 13, 2009]). P. 35
  5. ^ Neil Safier: Measuring the New World: Enlightenment Science and South America . University of Chicago Press, 2008, ISBN 978-0-226-73355-5 , pp. 387 ( Google Book Search - Limited Preview [accessed June 13, 2009]). P. 134
  6. ↑ João Carlos Garcia, Luís Miguel Moreira: “El geógrafo trabaja en su casa”: espaços portugueses na produção cartográfi ca de Tomás López . In: Península. Revista de Estudos Ibéricos . No. 5 , 2008, p. 103–125 (Biblioteca Digital U. Postage PDF file 2.3 MB [accessed on June 11, 2009]).
  7. ↑ Ramon de la Cruz, John Dowling. Ibid. P. 11
  8. ↑ Biblioteca Nacional de España (ed.): Mapa geográfico de América Meridional . 2007 (Biblioteca Digital Hispanica Mapa geográfico de América Meridional [accessed June 11, 2009]).
  9. ↑ Carlos Castro Sauritain: Las relaciones Vecinales de Chile y la guerra del Atlántico Sur . Editorial Mare Nostrum, 2006, ISBN 978-956-8089-13-9 , p. 189 ( Google Book Search - Limited Preview [accessed June 13, 2009]). P. 13
  10. ↑ Biblioteca Digital Hispánica (ed.): Datos del recurso . 2008 (Biblioteca Digital Hispánica Datos del recurso [accessed June 11, 2009]). Datos del recurso ( Memento of the original from April 15, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / biblioteca.universia.net
  11. ↑ Biblioteca Nacional de España (ed.): Colección de Trajes de España . 2007 ( BDH [accessed June 11, 2009]).
  12. ↑ Christian Felix Weisse (ed.): New library of the beautiful sciences and the free arts . tape 24 . Dycksche Buchhandlung, Leipzig 1780 ( Google Book Search - Complete View [accessed June 13, 2009]). P. 327
  13. ^ Antonio Gallego: Historia del grabado en España . Guida Editori, 1979, ISBN 978-84-376-0209-7 , pp. 540 ( Google Book Search - Limited Preview [accessed June 13, 2009]). P. 284
  14. ^ Museo del Traje. CIPE (Ed.): Traje feminino del valle de Ansó . Madrid 2007 (Museo del Traje PDF file 393 kB [accessed June 11, 2009]). P. 3
  15. ↑ Fundación Joaquín Díaz (ed.): Colección de Grabados de Trajes . ( Images [accessed July 13, 2009]).
  16. ↑ Geoinstitutos (ed.): ¿Quién fue ...?: Juan de la Cruz Cano y Olmedilla . ( Geoinstitutos - Online Biography [accessed June 11, 2009]).
personal data
SURNAME Cruz Cano y Olmedilla, Juan de la
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Spanish cartographer, illustrator and engraver
DATE OF BIRTH May 14, 1734
PLACE OF BIRTH Madrid
DATE OF DEATH 1790
Place of death Madrid